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Author
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Topic: Dog Food
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endlessenigma
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posted June 30, 2004 09:01 PM
My sheltie is about 7 and we have hed him for about a year. I think his previous owners fed him a lot of table s***** because he begs and begs. He watches as food goes from plate to mouth in case the smallest crumb drops that he can gobble up.
Often times he hardly even touches his own dry food. However he loves wet food. Is it ok to feed him only wet food? OR Bil-jac? Would that be fattening? Suprisingly he is slightly overweight (he loves his treats!).
Another thing I was thinking about is feeding him people foods like chicken and beef or whatever. It has gotta be better quality but what we feed him and would have to be thought out carefully so that he gets all the nutrients he needs I would think. I have heard of people that cook special meals for their pets. Just looking for more information about this if anyone can help.
Thanks a lot.
Posts: 4 | From: Ohio | Registered: Jun 2004
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endlessenigma
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posted June 30, 2004 09:03 PM
haha they blocked out s c r a p s! Thats funny.
Posts: 4 | From: Ohio | Registered: Jun 2004
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goombaya
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posted June 30, 2004 10:38 PM
I think if you cut his daily ration and dont feed any s***** or treats at all, you'll find his weight will go down and his appetite for dry food will increase.
This has been the case with a fat female I have.
Posts: 129 | Registered: Jan 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted June 30, 2004 11:46 PM
Yep save home cooking for when there is no other option. Whiskey is fighting off an infection and wont eat his kibble not even yogurt, so i am cooking a mix of veggies/rice/chicken and steak to get him to eat and when all is done and he is better back to kibble till next time.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted June 30, 2004 11:49 PM
Oh yeah and if you want him to eat just a high quality kibble nuto natural is great but dont give any other options put it down twice a day for 1/2 an hour he may snub it for 2-3 days but stand your ground you are alpha and he will learn quickly to eat what he is given when it is offered.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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endlessenigma
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posted July 01, 2004 07:40 PM
We have stopped on the treats for awhile now. And we really don't give him table s*****. Like I said tho, if something drops, it hardly hits the floor before he gobbles it down.
I am going to try Nutro Natural. I have heard nothing but good things about Nutro. I am still wondering about wet food or Bil-Jac though. Would that be ok to give him? Is it just unecessary? or fattening?
Is Nutro food a better quality than foods like Eukanuba and Iams? My mom was feeding him Dads and I told her she should get a better quality of food for him. Is Nutro a better choice?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to be sure he is getting the best food.
Posts: 4 | From: Ohio | Registered: Jun 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted July 01, 2004 08:04 PM
In my opinion it is the best food available only comparable to other natural recipes low in corn, my puppy has a sensitive stomach and wouldnt touch anything else not to the point of eating his daily requirement cant blame him since, nutrience, iams, euakanuba all made him sick.
Nutro lacks the chemicals used in proccessing dog food as well a alot of the low grade fillers, if you sign up on line ther website they send you coupons for there kibble, treats, and can if you desire my pupy is lean and also crated during the day so I fill a medium kong 3/4 with kibble and 1/4 can on top to occupy him while i leave.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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endlessenigma
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posted July 06, 2004 01:06 AM
Ok I bought Nutro Natural Choice for senior dogs. He still hardly touches it but at least it is a better quality of food.
I was wondering; I know you are not supposed to buy the cheap brands of pet food like Kibbles n Bits that they sell at grocery stores. But they sell them at Petsmart too. Is it still bad to buy and does it still have all the chemicals in it? Just wondering...Is Dad's one of those bad foods that have chemicals in it? The chemicals are to give it longer shelf life correct? That is one of the foods my mom used to buy my dog.
Thanks.
Posts: 4 | From: Ohio | Registered: Jun 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted July 06, 2004 05:41 AM
In my opinion kibbles and bits is bad look at the bag the fiirst or second ingredient is still corn, or ground corn whatever they are just full of fillers with no nutritional value as far as dads i have never heard of it.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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Barbara Smith
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posted July 06, 2004 02:21 PM
I cook for my dog but she has had hardly any weight gain. I wanted her to gain a little.
Here is one of my recipes:
5 chicken thighs-no skin-boiled
1can green beans
about 5 carrots-lightly steamed
1 can pinto beans-can be kidney or navy
1 can cream of chicken soup if desired
lightly steam carrots, cook 2 cups of rice, add cooked chicken and other ingredients.
Feed as much of this to your dog as you would canned dog food. Take treats away or feed less food and only give a couple of treats a day to your dog. My dog loves this. There are lots of other recipes for dogs if you just do a search on dog food recipes.
Posts: 127 | From: Norf.,Va | Registered: Apr 2004
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lou3
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posted July 06, 2004 03:42 PM
Barbara, the recipe you described is not balanced for dogs, please dont feed this on a long term basis, you will cause your dogs harm. Someone on here found a good site with a properly balanced diet for those who insist on home-cooking (which most vets will heartily recommend against unless there are severe medical reasons) I will try and find it for you.
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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lou3
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posted July 06, 2004 03:47 PM
ok here is the site. Please if you have no other alternative to feeding home-made food follow the guidlines on here to the letter. Missing out or substituting even one ingrediant could cause your dog to have dietary deficiencies. Where possible always feed a complete food formulated by a qualified nutritionist.
http://www.api4animals.org/508.htm
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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Barbara Smith
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posted July 06, 2004 04:43 PM
Lou, you are so right that this recipe is not good for a long period of time.It is only one of what I make. That's why I mentioned doing a search on homemade dog foods. I also forgot to mention that I put garlic in it.
My dog besides a regular recipe that I make, gets broccoli, fish oil, yogurt, sweet potatoes, brown rice, noodles, eggs, oat meal with yogurt, etc. I could go on and on and on.
I did do a search on homemade cooking before I started. There was not any way I could tell her what I feed. Also, if your dog doesn't like garlic, you can put it in a blender with some olive oil, canola,etc. This is why people need to do a search on home cooking. However, I can understand your suggestion.
Posts: 127 | From: Norf.,Va | Registered: Apr 2004
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goombaya
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posted July 08, 2004 05:37 AM
Lou3, what do you think of the evolutionary diet concept, that is championed by billinghurst? The theory being that a dog (like a human) does not require a balanced meal at each sitting, just that the sum of his meals balance out.
Endless,
Biljac is a good food. Couple of things about it, if i remember correctly, the kibbles are softer so thre probably isnt a dental benefit as with a hard kibble. Also they add corn syrup or molasses or some type of sweetner like that to increase palatability. It does increase palatability but its a bit higher in sugars and harder to switch from thereafter if needed. However it is a high quality food with good quality ingredients.
Posts: 129 | Registered: Jan 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted July 08, 2004 06:24 AM
Bil-Jac Select Dog Food
Top Ten
Ingrdients Guaranteed Analysis
Chicken By-Products (Organ Meat Only)
Chicken
Corn
Chicken By-Product Meal
Dried Beet Pulp
Chicken Liver
Brewers Dried Yeast
Cane Molasses
Eggs
Salt
Protein
Fat
Fiber
Moisture
27.0%
18.0%
4.0%
10.0%
I really have to disagree , Bil jac looks far from good quality to me.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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DaxAriel's toy
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posted July 08, 2004 06:30 AM
Sammy.. I've never seen this food - where do you get it? ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Posts: 748 | From: Edmonton AB Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
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goombaya
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posted July 08, 2004 07:02 AM
Doglover they sell it at petsmart and petco.
Sambucca, i fail to see why you wouldnt think it was a decent food. I also think Nutro is a good food.
Here are the top ingredients of nutro natural select for seniors.I would actually chose BilJac over this.
Rice Flour, Chicken Meal, Rice Bran, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of natural Vitamin E), Natural Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride,
Some other foods that I feel are og very high quality. (not the most practical in many instances because of cost and availability)
I would reccomend:
Innova
Solid Gold
Canidae
Ol Mother Hubbard
Wellness
Wysong
EaglePak holisitc (I think this is a great choice to switch to if you have a large breed puppy on the cusp of being an adult and its time to change to adult food)
There are so many Super Premiums out there today. Ive used most of em, i tend to stick with whatever seems to agree with the dog, and dont really endorse any as the best as each dog reacts differently.
Posts: 129 | Registered: Jan 2004
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goombaya
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posted July 08, 2004 07:16 AM
It should be noted that a Sr. Dog food is naturally going to be of a higher grain content than a regular maintenance food, so the comparisons to Nutro Sr arent apples to apples. But you will find the comparisons to Nutro's regular adult food wouldnt be that dissimilar.
One of the things Nutro does in its labelling imo is called "Splitting" they break the top grain based ingredients and split it into different categories thus on the label it reads as a meat based food, but if you added up the contents of the fillers it would be a grain based food. Ideally you want to have 2-3 meat based sources of protein in the top 4-5 ingredients listed. Than you have to consider the digestability of the fillers etc etc.. rice is usually a more digestible filler than corn.. it can get pretty confusing to someone just looking for a decent food.
Posts: 129 | Registered: Jan 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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posted July 08, 2004 07:16 AM
I actually agree with your entire list from wht I kow of them I stear clear of anthing with animal by products and corn or ground corn as dogs do not digest it just as we dont, on the other hand corn gluten meal is proccesed in a way that they do. I would definitley feed my puppy solid gold, innova or wellness if I could afford it.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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DaxAriel's toy
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posted July 08, 2004 07:57 PM
I've decided that until Ariel shapes up, that I would feed her only puppy dry food. It's not that I believe it's any better (actually I still think fresh meat, fresh vegtables are better for us all), but she doesn't like it as much as my home cooking. As an example when I mix home cooked lean meat & fresh veggies at a rate of 1 cup to 2 of dry, she eats like there's a fire. Within a couple of hours - she's back looking for another bowl of dry food.
With only dry food - she picks at it and eats much slower. SHe might actually leave some in her bowl. SO for the next 2 weeks min. nothing but dry and we'll see how she does.
Posts: 748 | From: Edmonton AB Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
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lou3
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posted July 09, 2004 12:09 PM
Goombaya - i think its fine in theory but because dogs have such dramatically different requirements from humans its very difficult indeed for even qualified nutritionists to actually feed the right balance, even worked out on a weekly basis rather than a by-meal basis. I have done (and passed with honours) a course in small animal nutrition as part of my veterinary degree but still would not feel comfortable that i could balance a dog's food properly.
Barbara - thanks for clearing that up, however i would urge you to look at the recommended supplements on the site i mentioned as these still need to be added to a diet such as the one you describe as these "human" foods do not ensure a "dog friendly" balance of certain vitamins and amino acids. Also it is recommended that any dog fed a home-cooked diet is blood-tested every six months to check for deficiencies so you can alter the diet accordingly. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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Barbara Smith
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posted July 09, 2004 06:53 PM
Thanks for the imput, Lou. We all can use advice from someone who is studying this kind of stuff.
I did read the site you reccommended. I have also checked out some other sites and printed them out.
How much longer do you have to go to school before you become a vet? Sounds as though you are enjoying it.
Posts: 127 | From: Norf.,Va | Registered: Apr 2004
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lou3
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posted July 11, 2004 11:45 AM
Ive got three years to go (its a five year course over here) and yep - I LOVE it. Glasgow is the best city in the world to study in and it has the best vet school in the UK!
Always happy to help out
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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cageymomma
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posted July 16, 2004 03:57 PM
hey just wanted to let you know that my dogs experienced hair loss and both seemed less shiny on Nutro. I feed them Eagle Pak, it's great less mess and all the good things. It's price comparable to the other big names. I don't know where all they sell it b/c it is made here in Indiana, but Waltham or Iams would be my other choices.
As for Pet suppliers selling food they have to so people will go there. It's about sales not about pets. I am talking about PetSmart. The one by me, and I have heard others, will not put up a small bulletin board for lost or found pets!!! If they cared about pets then they would care less about the appearance of the store and more about the pets.
Posts: 1 | From: Indianapolis | Registered: Jul 2004
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